Asia Cup 2025: Big blow for Afghanistan, THIS star bowler ruled out due to injury; replacement named

Afghanistan were handed a major setback in their Asia Cup 2025 campaign on Monday (Sep 15) after star bowler Naveen-ul-Haq was officially ruled out of the tournament. As confirmed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Naveen has been ruled out of the rest of the Asia Cup having failed to recover from a shoulder injury. In a statement on X, the ACB said that Naveen is still recovering and has not been cleared by the medical team.

Naveen to miss Asia Cup 2025

While Naveen will continue his treatment and rehab until he regains his full fitness, the board confirmed that young pacer Abdullah Ahmadzai, who recently made his international debut, has been named as his replacement.

Ahmadzai, who comes in for Naveen, has only played one international match so far, and the match was against UAE in the recently concluded tri-series between Pakistan, Afghanistan and UAE. He picked up one wicket in three overs in that match.

On the other hand, Naveen missed Afghanistan’s opening game in Asia Cup 2025 against Hong Kong and also the recently concluded tri-series with Pakistan and UAE and was expected to return for the Asia Cup. However, he will continue to be on the sidelines and miss the continental showpiece where Afghanistan are favourites to reach the Super Four. His last competitive match was in June, this year, when he played for MI New York in Major League Cricket.

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Afghanistan will now face Bangladesh in Match 9 of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on September 16 (Tuesday). This game is very crucial for Bangladesh to stay alive in the race for the Super Four, while Afghanistan will look to extend their unbeaten run to remain at the top of Group B.

Afghanistan's squad for Asia Cup 2025

Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Fazalhaq Farooq